Out of the melodrama of Israeli public discourse, two popular demons often emerge: the ethnic demon and the demographic demon. Last week, a third popular demon awoke from its brief hibernation: the governmental demon. Those who roused it from its sleep were the heads of Israel’s four largest parties, who found one issue on which they agree completely. In their view, the root of all the state’s problems is this demon – in other words, the electoral system and the system of government. Leggi il seguito di questo post »

CAIRO: Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, toured the war-torn Gaza Strip on Friday – the highest-ranking European official to visit the territory since it was overrun by Hamas militants nearly two years ago.

Solana’s visit to Gaza was a sign of increasing international engagement in the long-isolated Palestinian enclave.

JERUSALEM, Feb. 27 — Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday failed a second time to win Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s agreement to join a government of national unity, increasing the likelihood that Israel will be led by a narrow coalition of parties opposed to or skeptical of talks with the Palestinians.

After meeting with Livni, Netanyahu told reporters that he had offered her centrist Kadima party full partnership in the government and two of the three top cabinet posts — foreign minister, defense minister and finance minister — but that she turned him down. Leggi il seguito di questo post »

Israel’s prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu says talks to include the centrist Kadima party in a coalition have ended without agreement.

The Likud leader said he had faced “categorical rejection” in 90-minute talks with Kadima leader Tzipi Livni.

Minutes earlier, Mrs Livni said the meeting “concluded without agreement on key issues”.

Mr Netanyahu has been tasked with forming a government in the wake of elections earlier this month.

In other regional developments, Israel’s military attacked alleged smuggling tunnels in Gaza on Thursday, in what it said was retaliation for earlier rocket launches.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been touring Gaza and expressed his support for its reconstruction, as the European Commission said it was ready to pledge 436m euros (£389m) in aid. Leggi il seguito di questo post »

JERICHO, West Bank — They rappel down a 65-foot tower, navigate obstacle courses, shoot in the firing range and sleep in pristine barracks. They eat in an air-conditioned mess where brushed aluminum glints from every kitchen surface. Rows of Land Rovers stand by. The entrance reads “The Presidential Guard, Always in Front: Strength, Sacrifice, Redemption.”

One year ago, this 18-acre campus built with $10 million of American taxpayer money was another piece of Jordan Valley desert, and Palestinian guardsmen slept on flea-bitten mattresses and took meals on their laps. Along with a 35-acre, $11 million operations camp a few miles away, also American-financed, it is a real step forward in an otherwise moribund process of Palestinian state-building.

“These guys now feel like they’re on a winning team, that they are building a Palestinian state,” said Lt. Gen. Keith W. Dayton, the American who has been overseeing the training of Palestinian forces, as he watched exercises on Thursday. “And I wouldn’t stay if I didn’t think they were going to do it. I have complete confidence in the Palestinian leadership, and I’m convinced the new administration is serious about this.” Leggi il seguito di questo post »

(JERUSALEM) — The special U.S. envoy tasked with jump-starting flagging peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians will huddle Thursday with Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, a vocal opponent of the negotiations.

The meeting will be the first between Netanyahu and George Mitchell since Netanyahu was designated to lead Israel’s next government. (See pictures of Israel at 60.)

The Obama administration has dispatched Mitchell to the region for the second time in its first month, an indication of the new U.S. president’s determination to press a resolution of the decades-old conflict. Hillary Clinton is due in the area next week on her first trip since being appointed the new U.S. secretary of state.

Mitchell hopes to re-energize stalled talks, over the objections of Netanyahu, who thinks the latest round of U.S.-backed negotiations was a waste of time and wants to promote Palestinian prosperity instead of Palestinian statehood. Leggi il seguito di questo post »